Everything Falls Apart
by UnconventionalLove
Summary: This is wrong." The next morning he awoke with a start. He turned over to see that the person who had been lying next to him last night was no longer there. Peyton/Cooper fic. Rated M for possible future situations.
1. Chapter 1

"This is wrong." He moaned, as she ran kisses up and down his chest.

"Peyton..." he began, but she didn't acknowledge him.

"Peyton!" He said more forcefully this time. She looked up.

"I don't think this is such a good idea..." She looked at him sadly.

"It's just... you're ALOT younger than me, and... I don't want you to get hurt."

She rolled her eyes. "Cooper, look. Okay, I mean, this is just casual, right? I'm not going to get hurt, we're just, you know, playing it by ear." It was his turn to look at her sadly.

"Right. You're right, we're just casual... just.. casual." She grinned devilishly at him and returned to lay her lips on his abdomen.

And that was the end of that conversation.... for now.

The next morning Cooper awoke with a start. He turned over to see that the person who had been lying next to him last night was no longer there. "Peyt?" he asked.

"Right here." She replied. She had been standing next to the window with a cup of coffee. She didn't turn around. Cooper arose and went to stand behind her at the window. He snaked his arms around her waist.

"Hey.. you okay?" he asked softly.

"Oh.. um, yeah sure, I was just thinking about some things... everything really." She sighed.

"You wanna talk about it?" She paused.

"No.. yes.. maybe later." She suggested.

"Okay." He didn't push her. "I'm gonna go take a shower. Breakfast later?" She nodded.

"Oh, and Coop?" He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." He just smiled and turned back in the direction he had originally intended.

A million things raced through her head at once. Cooper, Lucas, her mom, Nathan, Brooke. So many things were happening in her life right now. So many things that she regreted, and Cooper has been the one constant in her life. He had been there for her when she needed it, he took her in, he helped her through so much. He was so good to her. They were great friends, and then one night, it evolved into something more. It wasn't just casual for her, and she hoped it wasn't casual for him.

_Peyton sat alone at one of the tables in Karen's. She'd been doing that a lot lately, being alone. She'd royally screwed things up with so many people. She'd lost her best friend, over a guy, she'd lost the guy over her best friend, she'd lost her mom, she'd lost her dad, in the figurative sense, she'd lost everything. She had no one, and she knew it was all her fault._

"_Penny for your thoughts?" his voice pulled her out of her self-pitying daze._

"_Look, I'm not in the mood to talk right now so..." and then realization hit her. "Cooper?" she asked, surprised to see her ex-boyfriend's uncle in town._

"_Hey Peyton. Wow, I haven't seen you since..." he stopped._

_She half chuckled."Those were different times." She replied, reflecting on her time with Nathan._

"_They sure were." He smiled. "So, how are you? And you gonna give me a hug, or what?" She got up and leaned into him for a hug. "You know, Cooper, I've been better..."_

"_You know what always helps me? Alcohol." She paused, remembering that she was only 17. "But.. how about we just get some ice-cream?"_

"_Uhh, you know, I don't think so..." She was cut off by the sound of the cafe's door bell jingling. She glanced up only to see her former best friend Brooke Davis enter the cafe. "You know what? Sure." She smiled, getting up quickly and exiting the cafe before she and Brooke had the chance to exchange "pleasantries"._

"_So... you want to talk about it?" he asked, referring to her quick change of heart and exit from the cafe. "Not so much." She replied. "It's just.. it's complicated, and.. it's a loong story."_

"_I've got time." She let it all out. Her feelings for Lucas, their whole short lived love affair, her friendship with Brooke, her mom, all of it._

"_Wow." He replied. "Yeah."_

"_I mean.. when you said you had problems I was thinking maybe you thought you looked fat.. or something... which, you don't by the way." She giggled. "Uh, thanks?"_

"_And.. as for the other stuff, you made a mistake. You're a teenager. Teenagers make mistakes. I'm not saying it's okay, or anything, but you know what you did, right? So, stop feeling so bad about it, just give it some time, I'm sure they'll come around." He didn't touch the stuff about her mother. He had no idea what to say. What do you say to a girl who's lost her mother.. twice?_

"_You know, Cooper? You're probably the best friend I have right now... so, thank you." She smiled._

"_You're very welcome, Peyton." He glanced at his watch. "You know, it's so late, but... how about we meet up tomorrow or something for coffee?"_

"_Yeah, sure Cooper, that'd be great."_

"_Okay, good. So... tomorrow. Karen's?" Peyton thought for a moment?_

"_You know, we'd better make it my place, I just... don't want to risk running to... anyone. You know?" He nodded. "Your place it is."_

_He turned to leave. "Coop, you know where it is?" she asked._

"_Yeah."_

And that's where it all began.


	2. Chapter 2

"Coop?" She asked, pounding on the bathroom door. "Coop! You almost done in there? Some of us out here have the need for a nice warm shower, and at the rate you're going, there won't be any hot water left!" She pounded again. "Coo-per! Open. This. Door."

Just then the door swung open, revealing a towel-clad Cooper. "Calm down, sweetheart. It's all yours." He smirked.

She glared at him. "Thanks." She replied sarcastically. "When I'm finished we need to talk, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem." He headed for the stairs. "And I expect some nice freshly fried eggs when I come down there!" She yelled after him jokingly.

He rolled his eyes. "Anything for you baby."

Peyton shed her robe and stepped into the shower. She gasped as the water that hit her was ice cold. "Cooper." She cursed under her breath. Nevertheless, she felt grimy and decided to continue on with her shower. She closed her eyes, letting the cold water consume her, and her thoughts flashed to a similar memory.

"_Nathan!" She shrieked, stifling her giggles. "Nathan stop it! It's cold!" He splashed her again. "Nathan come on! It's freezing, and I'm soaked." He looked at her suggestively. "Yes you are." He winked. "I think a nice hot shower would warm you right up." She took his hand and they headed up stairs, giggling and tiptoeing, straight for the bathroom. Nathan stripped down and opened the shower door. "You coming?" he asked. She nodded, peeling off her dripping wet clothing._

"_Nate?" Cooper called from the hallway. "Hey Nate! You home?" He knocked on the bathroom door. "Nate, you in there?" he pushed the door open, only to hear moaning coming from the shower. Cooper's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly shut the door before anyone had noticed him. Little did he know, someone had noticed him. But Peyton Sawyer didn't mind a show, or... atleast she hadn't then, but, like she said before, times have changed._

Peyton's eyes shot open, and she suddenly felt very self concious. She covered herself, as though someone else were in the room, but no one was. Cooper Lee had seen her naked, before she ever really knew him, and she hadn't thought twice about it, until now. Sure, now they were kinda sorta dating, but.. they hadn't been then, and it's kind of weird, right? Your then-boyfriend's uncle seeing you naked? And then suddenly, for the first time, it really hit her. She was dating her ex-boyfriend's **uncle**. She twisted the knob on the shower and the water ceased. She tossed her robe back on, pulling it tightly and headed downstairs.

She sniffed the air. "Mmmmm, something smells good." She smiled and sat down at the table.

"Two eggs, over easy." He announced, placing the plate in front of her on the table. "So," he said, sitting down across from her. "What did you want to talk about?"

Peyton choked on her eggs. She had originally wanted to talk about him about them becoming exclusive, but now, after thinking about it, maybe he was right. Maybe... just maybe, this is wrong. Maybe they shouldn't be together. Maybe the age difference is too much.

"I just... I.. don't know if this is working. Maybe you were right. Maybe we're just too different." She replied, tears that she didn't know she had welled up in her eyes.

"Wha-what? Peyt, I never said that. All I said was that maybe the age thing, maybe it would be... I don't know, but... I don't feel that way any more. I want us to be together." She smiled lightly.

"I know you do, and I thought I did too, but I've been doing some thinking..."

"Thinking when? In the 15 minutes that you were in the shower?" he demanded, starting to get a little angry.

"Cooper, please, don't do this, I like you, I do, but, l.."

"But what Peyton? Because when I brought this up last night you were more than happy with our whole situation and now suddenly you're against it? I don't get it, I thought you were happy with me." He replied sadly.

"I just think maybe we should take a break for a while, you know?"

" Yeah, fine, sure, whatever." He said avoiding eye contact.

"Coop..." she began.

"Peyt, I think maybe you should just go home... for now."

"Okay... I'll.. uh, call you later."

"Right, sure. Later." He sighed.

"Bye Coop." She said softly, exiting the house.

"Bye Peyt." He replied after she left, pulling a small box out of his pocket.


	3. Chapter 3

**Everything Falls Apart**

"_Don't you dare! Don't you dare twist my words around to make yourself feel like you are not a backstabbing two faced BITCH Peyton, because you are, and you know it." _The words echoed in the back of her mind. The confrontation, the pain, the emotion, the slap. They all replayed in her head over and over again, constantly. But today, for the first time in a long time, her broken friendship with Brooke Davis was not the subject of her emotional turmoil. Today, it was Cooper Lee. She never wanted to hurt him. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She's completely infatuated with him, she's... in love with him. But, she blew it. Cooper was so upset last time she saw him, he was hurt and angry, and she couldn't blame him, but they were getting too close, and there were so many factors. Honestly, the age thing? It wasn't even close to the top of the list. She loved Cooper, and age shouldn't matter, but it does factor in. What if... what if he gets bored of her? Or... finds someone new, someone more experienced, or prettier, or with a better personality? Being unsure of herself wasn't a new sensation for Peyton Sawyer, but her self-doubt never hurt this much before.

It's been 4 hours since Peyton and Cooper's argument. Cooper still sat at that kitchen table, his eggs cold and untouched, his hands still holding on to that box. He'd had a plan. He and Peyton had been friends for almost 2 years now, and had been involved for about 6 months. Yeah, he had a plan for them, and suddenly, within 15 minutes, it had all shattered, and fallen apart. He never expected it to turn out this way. Honestly, he'd never felt this way about anyone before. Sure, there had been those "maybe" girls in high school, you know, the ones you date for a few weeks, and it feels like forever because you're so blissful, and then one day the fire burns out, and you're left not really feeling anything at all? This was completely different. 6 months, felt like an eternity, and things weren't always blissful, sure, they had their share of arguments, like when she borrowed a pair of his socks or something, but nothing major, and honestly, until now, he never thought the fire would burn out.

Their relationship wasn't some epic romance. They were close friends that fell in love. It's cliché. What's so epic about that? For some, it was nothing. For them, it was everything. Peyton felt so alone, and then came her knight in shining armour; he was there for her when she didn't have anyone else. He was her saviour, and it felt so good to finally have someone who would just listen, and not pass judgement. It was something she needed. It was some_one _she needed, but now that was gone, and she knew, she knew it was all her fault.

"Cooper! You home?" Called his sister's voice from the front door. He didn't respond. He heard her footsteps trail from the front door to the kitchen. She stared at him awe-struck.

"Cooper? What's the matter with you?" He was pulled out of his daze. "Peyton dumped me." He replied bitterly, shoving a forkful of cold eggs into his mouth.

She sighed. "What did I tell you, Coop? That girl is a walking mess. She's a nice girl, God only knows how many night she spent at our house, and I got to know her quite well, BUT all I'm saying is maybe it's for the best. That girl isn't exactly in a position to be in a relationship right now, with all that's going on, especially not, and no offense Cooper, with the likes of you."

"Thanks, Deb." He replied sarcastically. "That makes me feel so much better."

She shrugged. "I'm sorry Cooper but what do you want me to say? You're 12 years older than her! Did you really think it was going to work out?"

He pushed the box toward her on the table. "Yeah, I did."

"Oh good God, Cooper what is it today, drive Deb to the brink of insanity day? What are you thinking? Do you honestly think that she'd say yes? She's 18 years old, Cooper. At 18 she should be thinking about university, and parties, and meeting guys, not being tied down in a marriage." She sighed.

Cooper rolled his eyes. "Deb, just because you got trapped in a loveless marriage at 18 does not mean that ours would turn out the same way, but... it doesn't matter anyway, because we're through. She told me that this was too much to handle for her right now and that she wanted a break." Deb let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, maybe that will give you some time to get your head on straight."

"I've got to get my head on straight." She said to herself as she lay on her bed sketching. It felt weird, being in her own room for a change. Usually, she just spent her nights at Cooper's, as it was the summer, and she was less likely to run into Brooke, or even Lucas for that matter. But now, she and Cooper were over, and she'd be spending a lot more time in here. Already, though, she missed the comforts of his strong arms, and his warm bed, and waking up to his face each and every morning. She pondered. 'Had she made a mistake?' She didn't know why she was asking herself. Of course she made a mistake; one of the worst mistakes of her life. She let go of Cooper Lee; and for the first time since she had ended their relationship, fling, whatever you wanna call it, she let the tears flow, and they never stopped.

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed, I'm really getting into this, so you can probably expect daily updates for the next little while.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Everything Falls Apart**

"Peyton?" asked a familiar voice from the doorway.

"Coop?" she asked softly, looking up expectantly. "Oh... hey, Nate. Sorry, I thought you were... someone else."

He sighed. "You thought I was Cooper. Look, my mom told me what happened, and I'm sorry. Cooper's an idiot, and I don't know what he said to make you run for the nearest exit, but he really misses you, Peyt."

Peyton shook her head. "Cooper didn't do anything, it was me. I'm a complete headcase, I told him – I told him that I thought the age difference was too much, but I was wrong. He's the best relationship I've ever had, and the most healthy I've been in in a long time – no offense, Nate."

He grinned. "None taken, we were a mess together, Peyton, the sex was amazing, but the rest of it, not so much. I did love you though, I hope you knew that. I know I treated you like shit, and you deserved better that – you DESERVE better than that, and I think you found it with Cooper. I don't want you throwing it all away over some stupid argument."

Peyton chuckled lightly. "When did you become such a love guru?" He smiled, "I just see the way you guys look when you're around eachother. Your eyes both light up, and it's the happiest I've ever seen either of you. You deserve to be happy – you both do."

Nathan walked over and embraced the red-faced puffy eyed girl. "Thanks Nathan." She said into the crook of his neck.

"No problem." He replied, heading toward the door. "Oh, and Peyton?"

She turned to him. "Yeah?"

"Nevermind." She raised an eyebrow at him, but before she could question him, he was already out the door.

*RING RING*

Cooper's phone had been ringing almost non-stop for about an hour. He didn't bother answering it, he knew who it was.

"Hey, this is Cooper, leave me a message." The machine repeated for the 100th time that day. "Cooper, it's Nathan, we need to talk."

Nathan. Nathan Scott. His very pissed off, very persistant nephew had called 12 times today. He didn't even need to answer the phone to know what Nathan wanted to talk about. Peyton Sawyer. Nathan and Peyton may have broken up over a year ago, but they were still great friends. Nathan had warned Cooper when he and Peyton had first started going out not to break her heart, so he _knew _what this phone call would consist of. Little did his nephew know, _she_ was the one who had broken his heart.

"_Nathan!" Peyton yelled, seeing the brown haired boy across the room. She beckoned him over. Snaking her arms around Cooper's neck, she smiled. "We wanted you to be the first to know."_

_Nathan smiled back. "That's great, you two." He turned to Cooper. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Darting his eyes to Peyton for a split second. "...Alone?" Cooper chuckled. "Uh oh."_

_Nathan dragged his uncle to the other side of the room. "Okay, so... Peyton is a great person.." Nathan began. "I know this." Cooper interrupted. Nathan shot him a death glare. "AND she's been hurt before." "I know this too." Cooper interjected again. Nathan ignored him this time, and continued. "I just want to let you know, if you hurt her in any way, I WILL kill you. I already hurt her pretty bad when we went out, and I don't want you to do the same." Cooper chuckled. "Well, aren't we Mr. Overprotective?" Nathan just glared. "Not to worry, Nate. I really like Peyton, and I'm happy with her, I wouldn't dream of hurting her, intentional or otherwise." Nathan looked satisfied with this answer. "Good."_

_Peyton walked over. "You two just about done having your family heart-to-heart?" she chuckled. "Yeah, we're done here. He's all yours." Nathan replied._

Cooper sighed. It doesn't matter who broke whos heart. He's the adult, and he needs to take responsibility. The phone rang again, and this time, Cooper picked it up. "Hello?" he didn't expect the voice on the end. "Cooper? It's me, Laura. Look, uhh, I—I need you. I'm at Jake's Bar, and I just, please come, please." The girl on the other end – Laura, sounded panicked, almost to the point of tears. "Laura? I'll be right there, okay. Don't go anywhere!" he replied, grabbing his keys and rushing out the door.

Halfway to Jake's, Cooper's cellphone went off. He flipped the phone open. "Nathan." He said, looking at the caller ID before shutting the phone off and placing it back in his pocket. Suddenly seeing his destination, he pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. Opening the door of the bar he quickly swept his eyes over the building, suddenly seeing a small brunette figure slumped in a corner booth. "Laura?" he asked softly. The small figure looked up at him sadly. She looked completely trashed. "Laura, are you alright?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I—I don't know what happened, it came out of nowhere.... You're my oldest friend, I didn't know who else to call..." He looked at her, his features soft. "Laura, what happened? What's wrong?"

"I—I—" she stuttered.

"Laura, I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong!" Cooper replied, a little more forcefully this time.

"That's just it, Cooper! I don't know what happened! One minute I'm driving, and the next minute my car is at the side of the road, and the other car, is wrapped around a tree. So I ran, as fast and as far away as I could. I can't go to jail, Cooper!"

"Jail?" he asked, shocked. "You mean they're... dead?" he finished, grimly.

"I don't know, Cooper! But I saw her, and it didn't look good. I need to get out of here! Out of town. What if she _is_ dead, Coop? What if I killed the poor girl? How am I supposed to live with myself?"

He sighed. "Look, Laura. You need to report this, so this girl can get some help. If she's not already, she WILL die, so just tell me where the accident is, so I can call the police."

"It's... up the highway, near Patterson's lodge." She replied meekly.

Cooper clicked his phone on, and before he could dial 911, it rang. He answered it. "For godsakes Nathan, I KNOW you want to yell at me for breaking Peyton's heart right now, but I have other shit to deal with right now!" he hollered into the phone.

"I—It's not about that." Nathan replied sadly. "There's been an accident, Cooper, and it doesn't look good."


	5. Chapter 5

**Everything Falls Apart Chapter 5**

Okay, so after FIVE? Months, I have finally updated this story. Sorry it took so long. I don't even know if anyone will even still read it, but here it is.)

(A/N: Okay, I know what you're thinking. "That doesn't make ANY sense! Nathan left before telling anything. Well, let's just say, for the sake of the story, he felt guilty about it before he left Peyton's and went back up to her room to tell her.)

His heart raced, and unshed tears blurred his vision as they threatened to fall as he tried to make his way to the hospital. His thoughts were scattered. The last thing they had done was fight, and he didn't want it to end like that, he couldn't have it end like that.

"_It's Peyton. She... she was just... I went to go see her, after I talked to mom. She told me about the ring, Coop. I didn't know..."_

"_Nathan! What happened to Peyton?"_

"_I told her about the ring, okay? And I guess she went to go see you, but she never made it. She was hit by a drunk driver. She was hit by your friend! That girl... Lauren!"_

"_Lauren? Wait, Laura? Laura hit Peyton's car? Nathan! Where is she? Where's Peyton?"_

"_She's at County Hospital! Shit, Cooper, where the hell have you been? She was asking for you!"_

"_So... she's okay? She's alright?"_

"_No, Coop, she's not __**alright. **__She was in a CAR ACCIDENT! There was a lot of damage to her head, and she's been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past hour. She's awake now, but who knows how long that'll l..."_

_He heard another voice on the other end of the line. "She's coding! Somebody get a crash cart!"_

"_Nathan! Nathan? What's going on?"_

_The line went dead. _

Cooper drove like mad, swerving and praying that Peyton would still be with him when he got to the hospital. Maybe the cart was for someone else, maybe Peyton was better now, maybe she was fully conscious and talking and laughing. Maybe...

Cooper's thought was never finished, as the blaring ringing of his cell phone cut through his thoughts.

"Nathan? How is she? How-"

"Umm...hi, is this Cooper Lee?"

"Uh, yes, who is this?"

"This is Marta Collins from Tree Hill County General Hospital. I'm calling in regards to your... girlfriend, Peyton Sawyer. "

Cooper held his breath.

"Yes, I don't generally feel that it's right for me to do this over the phone, but given the circumstances..."

"Yes?"

"There was some, well, some swelling we found on the brain from the accident that has caused Ms. Sawyer to slip into a coma." Cooper's breath was caught in his throat, at a loss for words. A few hours ago he was ready to propose to her, a few hours ago she ending things with him, but at least a few hours ago she was awake and breathing. A few hours ago he was heartbroken, but that heartbreak is nothing compared to how he feels now.

"Mr. Lee? Are you still there? I think you should get down here. It helps the patient, to hear the voice of a loved one. Her friend is in with her now, but I think it'd really help if she heard _your_ voice."

Cooper was riddled with guilt. While the girl he loved was lying unconscious on the side of the road, he was helping and protecting the woman who'd nearly killed her. He wanted to strangle Laura for what she'd done, he wanted to kick Nathan's ass for telling her about the ring. He wanted to get angry, and yell, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, not when Peyton is lying in a hospital bed, comatose, with moments of her life slipping away every second. He couldn't bring himself to feel anything but upset and guilty.

"Damn it, Peyton, why would you go out driving in the rain?" he said to himself.

It was at least a twenty minute drive to the hospital. He wanted to be there for her, and tell her how sorry he was, he wanted to sit by her bedside and talk to her and tell her how much a loved her, how much he needed her.

As he neared the hospital, he slowed down.

'I don't think I can see her like this.' He thought selfishly.


End file.
